PHILADELPHIA - The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 4 in two opinions rejected challenges by Canada, Montana and a South Carolina hospital to Chapter 11 bankruptcy debtor W.R. Grace & Co.'s confirmed plan of reorganization, finding that the plan is equitable in its treatment of Canada...

NEW YORK - Thirty-two insurers and health care plans on Sept. 5 sought relief in New York federal bankruptcy court from an injunction in the Chapter 11 case of Quigley Co. Inc. so they can sue Quigley parent Pfizer Inc. for reimbursement of millions of dollars in benefits for asbestos victims, saying...

SAN FRANCISCO - An appeal by nonsettling insurance companies of a $70 million settlement between Chapter 11 debtor Plant Insulation Co. and two other insurers is moot because the settlement is authorized by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and was consummated in good faith and the nonsettling insurers never...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A North Carolina federal bankruptcy judge on Sept. 17 for a second time denied summary judgment to an attorney and law firm accused by Chapter 11 debtor Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC of fraudulently obtaining a settlement from Garlock for a mesothelioma victim (Garlock Sealing Technologies...

WILMINGTON, Del. - Two insurance companies involved in long-running disputes with Chapter 11 debtor The Flintkote Co. over coverage for asbestos claims are bound by an "expansive" 28-year-old agreement to participate in arbitration to resolve the disputes, a Delaware federal judge held Sept...

NEW YORK - A New York federal bankruptcy judge on Oct. 25 overruled most objections of the U.S. trustee to final attorney fee requests in the Chapter 11 case of Quigley Co. Inc., disallowing only $20,600 of the more than $7.6 million in fees that the trustee had sought to have denied to three law firms...

SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 28 vacated the bankruptcy reorganization plan for a former asbestos insulator, finding that the plan failed to satisfy the requirements of Section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code dealing with control by asbestos trusts (In Re: Plant Insulation...

PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge on Nov. 12 mostly denied a motion by two insurance companies to reconsider confirmation of Pittsburgh Corning Corp.'s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, granting the request only to make clear what affiliates of the debtor are protected from asbestos...

WILMINGTON, Del. - With new Chapter 11 debtor Yarway Corp. saying that it needs more time to continue working with asbestos claimants to develop a consensual plan of reorganization for the company, a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge on Nov. 14 gave the debtor four more months to file the plan and solicit...

WILMINGTON, Del. - Chapter 11 debtor The Flintkote Co. has the exclusive right to file a plan of reorganization for five more months if it needs to pending the outcome of an appeal of the debtor's already-confirmed plan, according to an order filed Nov. 15 by a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge ...

BOSTON - A panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 20 affirmed a ruling that treated environmental fines against a debtor company as administrative expenses in the bankruptcy proceeding (Munces' Superior Petroleum Products Inc. v. N.H. Department of Environmental of Services $(In...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Making the State of Missouri wait for a $5 million settlement payment for cleanup of a polluted lead smelter site until Chapter 11 debtor ASARCO LLC finds out whether the settlement amount can be set off from any judgment ASARCO receives in a separate action would be "illogical...

WILMINGTON, Del. - Undistributed insurance proceeds are the property of a company dissolved more than 10 years ago, and a receiver must be appointed to defend against asbestos actions, the Delaware Supreme Court held Nov. 26 (Anderson v. Krafft-Murphy Co., No. 85,2013, Del. Sup.).

WILMINGTON, Del. - As part of its preparations to emerge from Chapter 11 protection in 2014 and to receive a tax break for 2013, W.R. Grace & Co. received authorization Dec. 17 from a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge to contribute up to $250 million to a qualified settlement fund for eventual distribution...

WILMINGTON, Del. - Bankrupt Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) on Jan. 3 filed a brief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware objecting to asbestos claims filed against the bankruptcy estate on grounds that they were dismissed prior to when OSG filed its bankruptcy petition (In...

BALTIMORE - While two insurance companies are correct that Maryland follows the horizontal exhaustion rule for determining primary and excess policy coverage, the rule must be applied based on the theory of pro-rata allocation, as a former insulation company seeking coverage for asbestos personal injury...

NEW YORK - Longtime U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton R. Lifland of the Southern District of New York, who presided over several landmark cases, including Johns-Manville Corp.'s asbestos bankruptcy and the liquidation of the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC estate following Madoff's Ponzi...

PHILADELPHIA - A split panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 24 affirmed a ruling that the claims of personal injury plaintiffs against a debtor company belonged to the bankruptcy estate (In re: Emoral Inc., No. 13-1467, Chapter 11, 3rd Cir.).